Psychosocial support for children affected by AIDS
Lessons from Thailand HDN Key Correspondent Team
Although medical treatment is clearly essential for children affected by HIV, ensuring their psychosocial well-being may be the most critical and urgent requirement. Because stigma and lack of sympathy around HIV results in exclusion and discrimination for many children, acceptance by peer groups and communities, and full participation in social life, are vital for the survival and development of these children. During the recent XVI International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Toronto, psychosocial well-being emerged as a central issue for children affected by AIDS, alongside paediatric care and treatment.
Activities or services that help to protect, support and promote the psychosocial well-being of children and families affected by HIV are essential to build the resilience of children to bear and recover from significant suffering, and enable them to overcome disadvantages and make positive contributions to society. It is widely recognised that this support is best provided by families and communities, where these children will be surrounded by people who love and care for them. Parents or caretakers need to be able to communicate effectively with affected children with regard to their medical issues, coping issues and understanding of the illness to help them to feel empowered and increase their self-esteem in overcoming their difficulties.
One project from Thailand, presented in the Global Village, uses art to allow affected children to communicate and express their psychosocial needs. The ‘We Understand’ group, established in 2002 in collaboration with the AIDS Access Foundation, Thailand Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+), MSF-Belgium (Thailand) and supported by UNICEF-Thailand, focuses on understanding and helping children affected by HIV using arts and children’s participation as methodologies to develop psychosocial activities.
Painting camp is one of the activities that help the children to communicate about their pain, grief, anger, and sadness. The caregivers can learn about their problems through their pictures, as talking about these feelings is sometimes difficult for them and is a matter of trust. The children sometimes use painting to cope with the loss of their parents. For example, Kwaw, a child with HIV who lost her mother, drew a picture of her mother in heaven. Some of them also drew their hope as a dying tree turning to green and growing beautifully. To see some of the pictures created by these children, please visit www.weunderstand.org
Later on other activities such drama, music, and photography are offered according to the interests of the children. They are trained by professionals and some of the children have received scholarships to attend painting and music schools.
Their work has been exhibited and performed in public places to raise awareness and understanding about children with HIV and to show that they are capable, competent, and have the same potential as other children. According to the project manager, the exhibition is a great channel to reduce stigma for these children and increase their self-esteem. The negative attitudes toward these children as very sick and dying soon diminish. The children are happy to be recognised for their work and to be part of the solution. In addition, the art activities also help to create trust and build good relationships between project staff and the children, which lead to other developments in psychosocial well-being.
The We Understand group has extended its work in partnership with local non-government organisations, hospitals, families, and PLHIV (people living with HIV) groups to respond to the children’s material and emotional needs, antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and care, and education. Once a year, a family camp is conducted by the group to monitor and follow up on the psychosocial issues of these children. Case conferences are conducted to study the needs of the children.
Children participating in this project are reported to show signs of improvement – feeling more confident to talk to people, developing their self-worth, and improving adherence to treatment. This project has now been replicated in several provinces in other parts of Thailand. The future challenges of the group are: (1) To work more with community leaders to address the issues of psychosocial well-being and long-term support; (2) To remove the self-stigma of these children; and (3) To replicate the project throughout the country.
It was refreshing to hear about this innovative project at the conference in Toronto and we look forward to seeing more comprehensive approaches that address the psychosocial well-being of affected children at the 2008 IAC in Mexico. Project models to improve the psychosocial well-being of children affected by AIDS, including stigma reduction, should be widely promoted.
HDN Key Correspondent, Thailand
Email: correspondents@hdnet.org
Website: www.healthdev.org/kc
Source://SEA-AIDS [sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org]
Although medical treatment is clearly essential for children affected by HIV, ensuring their psychosocial well-being may be the most critical and urgent requirement. Because stigma and lack of sympathy around HIV results in exclusion and discrimination for many children, acceptance by peer groups and communities, and full participation in social life, are vital for the survival and development of these children. During the recent XVI International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Toronto, psychosocial well-being emerged as a central issue for children affected by AIDS, alongside paediatric care and treatment.
Activities or services that help to protect, support and promote the psychosocial well-being of children and families affected by HIV are essential to build the resilience of children to bear and recover from significant suffering, and enable them to overcome disadvantages and make positive contributions to society. It is widely recognised that this support is best provided by families and communities, where these children will be surrounded by people who love and care for them. Parents or caretakers need to be able to communicate effectively with affected children with regard to their medical issues, coping issues and understanding of the illness to help them to feel empowered and increase their self-esteem in overcoming their difficulties.
One project from Thailand, presented in the Global Village, uses art to allow affected children to communicate and express their psychosocial needs. The ‘We Understand’ group, established in 2002 in collaboration with the AIDS Access Foundation, Thailand Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+), MSF-Belgium (Thailand) and supported by UNICEF-Thailand, focuses on understanding and helping children affected by HIV using arts and children’s participation as methodologies to develop psychosocial activities.
Painting camp is one of the activities that help the children to communicate about their pain, grief, anger, and sadness. The caregivers can learn about their problems through their pictures, as talking about these feelings is sometimes difficult for them and is a matter of trust. The children sometimes use painting to cope with the loss of their parents. For example, Kwaw, a child with HIV who lost her mother, drew a picture of her mother in heaven. Some of them also drew their hope as a dying tree turning to green and growing beautifully. To see some of the pictures created by these children, please visit www.weunderstand.org
Later on other activities such drama, music, and photography are offered according to the interests of the children. They are trained by professionals and some of the children have received scholarships to attend painting and music schools.
Their work has been exhibited and performed in public places to raise awareness and understanding about children with HIV and to show that they are capable, competent, and have the same potential as other children. According to the project manager, the exhibition is a great channel to reduce stigma for these children and increase their self-esteem. The negative attitudes toward these children as very sick and dying soon diminish. The children are happy to be recognised for their work and to be part of the solution. In addition, the art activities also help to create trust and build good relationships between project staff and the children, which lead to other developments in psychosocial well-being.
The We Understand group has extended its work in partnership with local non-government organisations, hospitals, families, and PLHIV (people living with HIV) groups to respond to the children’s material and emotional needs, antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and care, and education. Once a year, a family camp is conducted by the group to monitor and follow up on the psychosocial issues of these children. Case conferences are conducted to study the needs of the children.
Children participating in this project are reported to show signs of improvement – feeling more confident to talk to people, developing their self-worth, and improving adherence to treatment. This project has now been replicated in several provinces in other parts of Thailand. The future challenges of the group are: (1) To work more with community leaders to address the issues of psychosocial well-being and long-term support; (2) To remove the self-stigma of these children; and (3) To replicate the project throughout the country.
It was refreshing to hear about this innovative project at the conference in Toronto and we look forward to seeing more comprehensive approaches that address the psychosocial well-being of affected children at the 2008 IAC in Mexico. Project models to improve the psychosocial well-being of children affected by AIDS, including stigma reduction, should be widely promoted.
HDN Key Correspondent, Thailand
Email: correspondents@hdnet.org
Website: www.healthdev.org/kc
Source://SEA-AIDS [sea-aids@eforums.healthdev.org]
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 11:48 am
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